From an Interest in Molecules to a Fascination with Microbes

My scientific career has followed a meandering path centered on the structures and functions of microbial metabolites. These microbes included bacteria, fungi, and single-celled eukaryotes, and the metabolites included representatives from most metabolite families-peptides, complex carbohydrates, and lipids. The journey began with an interest in the structural complexity of microbial toxins and in microbes as chemists, and it evolved into a fixation on microbial metabolites' ability to reveal totally unexpected structure-function and host-guest relations and microbes' ability to affect human health and disease. The results described in this manuscript illustrate the power of interdisciplinary collaborations, clearly defined and soluble questions, a skilled research team, and serendipity.